Critical Essay by Randall Sullivan

In the following essay, Sullivan reports on the events of Kesey's memorial service.

“Who the hell was ever from Oregon?” some unnamed sophisticate asks in Tom Wolfe's The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test. Ken Kesey was—and proud of it. Kesey's memorial service in Eugene on November 14th was a testament to how essential a man can be not only to his time but also to his place.

The people—more than 1,000—who overfilled the old McDonald Theater were themselves evidence of how broadly Kesey had penetrated the heart of the state he called home. “The last time I saw him in the hospital, Ken told me he was going to help...